The present invention relates to a magnetic recording-reproducing head and to a method for making the magnetic recording-reproducing head, and more particularly to a thin-film magnetic head.
2 . Description of the Related Art
The magnetic recording-reproducing head has an increasing range of application for audio and video recording as well as various information processing purposes. The magnetic recording-reproducing head should record and reproduce as much information in as small an area of the recording medium as possible (high recording density) with high fidelity. Recent achievements enabled the recording-reproducing density of a VTR to be 500 Mb/inch.sup.2, and that of a HDD to be 200Mb/inch.sup.2.
A reproducing magnetic head using a Magneto-Resistive effect has been known for its high density and high fidelity. The magneto-resistive effect refers to the change of electric resistance of magnetic thin film or magnetic multi-layered film by the outer magnetic field. This MR head is able to gain high output even if it is used in a system in which the relative speed of the magnetic reproducing head and magnetic media is low.
FIG. 1D shows the basic composition of a magnetic recording-reproducing head 15 comprising the MR reproducing head 8 with lower and upper magnetic shield layers 2,7 and a magnetic inductive recording head 14 built on the MR reproducing head 8.
FIG. 1A to FIG. 1D shows the steps required to manufacture the magnetic recording-reproducing head 15.
A soft magnetic film which serves as the lower magnetic shield layer 2 is sputtered and patterned above the main surface of the Al.sub.2 O.sub.3. TiC substrate 1 covered with Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 film. Then the lower gap material layer 3 of the MR head 8 and the MR film 4 comprised of AMR(Anisotropic MR) film or GMR(Giant MR) film is sputtered and patterned on the lower magnetic shield layer 2. After the patterning of the MR film 4, a pair of lead electrodes 5 is made from each end portion of the MR film 4 to the region recessed from the ABS(Air Bearing Surface),as shown in FIG. 1A.
The upper gap layer 6 and soft magnetic layer 7 constituting both the upper magnetic shield layer and lower pole layer of the magnetic inductive recording head are then sputtered and patterned, as shown in FIG. 1B.
Next, gap layer 9 is sputtered on the patterned lower pole layer 7, as shown in FIG. 1C, and both a planar type magnetic recording coil 10 and a pair of deposited electrodes 11, each connecting to the lead electrodes 5 is then gilted using a resist pattern made by PEP(Photo Etching Process) as a resist flame pattern.
A coil insulator 12 which covers the recording coil 10 is then plastered or deposited by a CVD(Chemical Vapor Deposition) process and patterned, and a soft magnetic layer serving as an upper pole layer 13 which covers the magnetic recording gap 9 in the area including the ABS is applied as shown in FIG. 1D. The protective insulator layer is then sputtered, and the ABS of the head is cut out from wafer and polished.